grow you & your company

Tag: happiness

Being happy does not mean looking at something that is not working and then putting on a wan smile. It is not about humbly accepting crap like a martyr or putting a bandaid over whatever has you upset, fearful, angry, sad, etc. It’s not about getting happy and holding onto it for dear life. And it certainly is not about waiting for some conditions to be true or making them true so that you can finally be happy.

It is about finding your way to feeling joy now. And it’s about coming back to feeling joy as quickly as possible when you fall off.

In your corner,

Mike

PS: It’s about actually being happy. And we all have what it takes to be that happy.

PPS: If you feel bad, then you are not happy. Trust the feelings your body uses to signal you about what’s working and what’s more. Then flip or ladder your way to joy now.

What if I were to ask you, “What would make you really, really, over-the-moon happy?” What would you say? Would you say something like “having all the money I need,” “being able to spend more time with family and friends,” “to have my business be a success,” “to restore and maintain my health,” “to be more zen,” “to learn more,” “peace,” or “to make an impact on the world”? Good. These are right, exciting, and noble goals.

What if I were to tell you that the fastest, easiest way to having those things that would make you really, really, over-the-moon happy is to start by being really, really, over-the-moon happy? And that turning on that happiness is something we all can do–at will–with a thought.

They say that Fortune smiles on the lucky or the ready. Fortune and her sisters Love, Freedom, Health, and Happiness smile on you. Your job is to let them in by running your thoughts away from what’s wrong.

As we prepare to enjoy some holiday or end-of-year festivities, it is important to remember something about happiness. Happiness is not a goal or result of our effort. Happiness is a state we can enter or not, at will.

When we see it as a result, we strive and struggle. We say, “If I do this, if I get that, if this other thing happens, if they change in this way, then I’ll be happy.” While we can occasionally achieve a sense of happiness this way, it fades quickly and we won’t know why. We then go back to disappointment, struggle.

When we see happiness as a state, everything changes. We get to choose to be happy now or not. This instant. Every instant. Even when circumstances would seem to be against us. We are not locked into some bargain with the future. Happiness is right here.

I know you know this is not a new idea. It is one deserving our attention because of our habit of seeing happiness as an outcome and believing we cannot be happy at will.

Choose happy here, now. Pass it on.

In your corner,

Mike

PS: In case you’re wondering, this perspective does not shut down our desire to achieve, do, or have anything. It focuses our desire, guides it, and gives it meaning. Wanting something more while choosing to be happy is a fun, free, and creative way to go about things.